Group urges Gov Bello to appoint Lokoja traditional ruler

News Agency Of Nigeria

September 28, 2023 10:30 AM

The group stated that Lokoja and its indigenes had been living without a traditional head that could guide and counsel them on peaceful coexistence.

Gov Yahaya Bello (RipplesNigeria)

A Socio-Cultural Group, Lokoja Forum of Patriots ( LFP), on Wednesday urged Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi to appoint a new Lokoja Maigari after the demise of late Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir III.

The group, made up of Lokoja indigenes both at home and abroad, made the appeal in a letter signed by Alhaji Idris Babaango, Chairman and Alhaji Ali Danlami Ibrahim, Secretary to the group. The group said that the throne of the Maigari of Lokoja became vacant following the demise of Alhaji Muhammadu Kabir 111 on Sept. 28, 2022.

The group noted that since then, Lokoja and its indigenes had been living without a traditional head that could guide and Counsel them on peaceful coexistence.

“Our collective hope of having a successor to fill the vacuum created by the death of the late Maigari was high , especially when members of the Lokoja Traditional Council, who are also the town’s kingmakers, met and picked a successor in line with the tradition and custom of Lokoja to fill the vacant throne.

“To complete the process, the Lokoja Traditional Council forwarded the decision to your office through the Lokoja Local Government in line with the extant laws guiding the selection and appointment of a new Maigari.

“Since then, the people of Lokoja have been waiting eagerly for the formal approval and announcement of the new Maigari of Lokoja by the state government.

“By Sept. 28, it will be exactly one year that Lokoja has been without a Maigari, the traditional head of the town and Custodian of the culture and custom of the ancient town.

“The tradition and culture of Lokoja abhors vacuum , and this is happening for the first time in the history of the town.

“The throne of Maigairi of Lokoja is the soul and symbol of peace and unity among the indigenes of Lokoja, ” it stated.

It noted that apart from being the capital of Kogi State and an ancient town, it once served as the capital of the defunct Northern Protectorate until the amalgamation of 1914. According to the patriots, Lokoja should be accorded its due rights by having a traditional ruler approved for it without further delay by the governor.

The group further said that it was particularly worried that Lokoja was the only major town in the state and the only state capital in the whole Northern Nigeria without a traditional ruler.

“The absence of Maigari of Lokoja is already having negative effects on the social and economic well-being of the town and its indigenes.

“We are calling on all our royal fathers, the emirs and other traditional rulers in the state and in the entire 19 Northern states to intervene and help us to appeal and beg Gov Yahaya Bello to approve a new Maigari of Lokoja for us without further delay,” the group pleaded.